Scriabin - 12 Etudes, Op. 8

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) 12 Etudes, Op. 8 Composed in 1894; premiered in 1895 in St. Petersburg Performed by Boris Bekhterev (b. 1942), piano Recorded in 2012 at the Santa Croce Museum, Umbertide, Italy 0:00 No. 1 in C-sharp Major – Allegro 2:04 No. 2 in A Minor – A capriccio, con forza 4:21 No. 3 in B Minor – Tempestoso 6:57 No. 4 in B Major – Piacevole 9:10 No. 5 in E Major – Brioso 12:00 No. 6 in A Major – Con grazia 14:28 No. 7 in B-flat Minor – Presto tenebroso, agitato 16:50 No. 8 in A-flat Major – Lento (Tempo rubato) 20:23 No. 9 in G-sharp Minor – Alla ballata 26:14 No. 10 in D-flat Major – Allegro 28:57 No. 11 in B-flat Minor – Andante cantabile 33:18 No. 12 in D-sharp Minor – Patetico Scriabin composed his 12 Etudes, Op. 8, in 1894 when he was just 22 years old, establishing a major artistic milestone in his early period. Written during a time of personal adversity, including an injury to his right hand from over-practicing, the set served as both a pianistic manifesto and a vehicle for working through emotional turmoil. Influenced by the Romantic style of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), the études blend virtuosic technical demands with a uniquely Russian lyricism and increasingly adventurous chromatic harmonies. Scriabin subjected the pieces to numerous revisions before publishing them in 1895, and he premiered several of them during his St. Petersburg debut performance later that year. The collection culminated in the Étude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 ("Patetico"), a fiery work that became one of the composer's signature pieces and a staple encore for pianists like Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989).